Norris thinks McLaren were the quickest car in Mexico City

After his incident-filled race in Mexico City, McLaren driver Lando Norris suggested that his upgraded car was the quickest machine in Sunday’s 71-lap race.

McLaren displayed dominant pace in third and final practice, but they were unable to unlock everything from their car in qualifying. Oscar Piastri was eliminated in Q1 while his team-mate Lando Norris ended up only third on the grid.

At the restart after the early safety car period, Norris found himself fighting with his championship rival Max Verstappen. The pair ran wide two times on the same lap while battling hard for which the Dutchman received two ten-second penalties.

Norris did not look strong enough on the mediums to match Ferrari’s pace, but once he pitted for the hards, his car came alive and he was able to chase down Charles Leclerc for P2.

Reflecting on his race in Mexico City, Norris suggested that his MCL38 was the quickest car over the entire race distance.

“It was a good race but a very tough race. Over the first few laps, a lot of it was just trying to stay in the race and avoid any crashes. With Verstappen, I knew what to expect, and I just tried to avoid it.

“I think in the end, we were probably the quickest car today. We’re doing a very good job as a team, so we’ll keep our heads down, keep focused and keep pushing. A big thanks to all the team, and then the fans today, they make this race very enjoyable,” concluded Norris.

After his woes in qualifying, his team-mate Oscar Piastri elected to play the long game, running the medium tyres the longest of anyone in the first stint.

Having rejoined the track outside the top ten following his late tyre service, the Australian needed to regain the positions, which he managed to finish, securing four points after his disappointing qualifying.

“A difficult afternoon, but I think it was all we could have done. We made up a good chunk of places and the car was in a good spot, I just struggled through the traffic.

“It was a shame to not get Kevin Magnussen at the end, but we got ourselves back in the points and that’s the main thing.”

Commenting on the weekend, McLaren team boss Andrea Stella has praised his outfit’s development work that has enabled Norris to race with an upgraded floor. The Italian has also revealed that Piastri will receive the upgraded part at this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

“The mission for today at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez was, with both cars, to finish ahead of where we qualified. The pace was very good.

“We beat one of the Ferraris and, realistically, looking at the data, without the time lost at the beginning behind Verstappen, Lando would have had a shot at victory. This is very encouraging for future races.

“Lando raced our upgraded car this weekend, and once again I’d like to say a big thank you to the Technical Department for preparing this car and to the entire team for getting it to the track.

“Oscar will also have the upgrade in Brazil. He drove a beautiful race today. It wasn’t easy to get through the field, but he was patient when he needed to be and brought home some useful points. Those could be critical at the end of the season, because this championship is going to the wire.

“Now we focus on São Paulo. We’re looking forward to another entertaining race with Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes. This is good for Formula One – and we’re having fun!”